Marshall wins school board, Parrish re-elected

Published: Tuesday, August 26, 2014 at 09:11 PM.

Franklin County’s primary Tuesday saw one incumbent ousted on the eastern end, and another re-elected on the western end.

Pamela Marshall, 56, of Carrabelle, took a clear majority of the ballots in the non-partisan race for school board for District 2, avoiding a run-off in the Nov. 4 general election.

Marshall, a former teacher who retired from the school district after 32 years in the classroom, captured more than 56 percent of vote (350), to overtake challenger Wilburn 'Ray' Messer, 55, of Carrabelle, who drew 30.5 percent of the ballots (190), and 14-year incumbent David Hinton, 78, of Carrabelle, who received 13.5 percent (84)

In the universal primary held for District 4 county commissioner, incumbent Joseph “Smokey” Parrish, 52, of Apalachicola, easily retained his seat with 66.6 percent (381) to 33.4 percent (191) for challenger Royce S. Rolstad III, 31, of Apalachicola.

While Republican voters in District 2 may have cast votes in the race for county commissioner, the supervisor of elections office did not release any totals, since Mark Nobles, 57, of Lanark Village, was deemed the winner after Bill Snyder, 55, of Lanark Village, dropped out for health reasons earlier this month. Nobles will now square off in the November election against Democratic incumbent Cheryl Sanders, 58, of Carrabelle.

Turnout for the election was a scant 27.5 percent, not surprising given that there were no statewide primary races, with the Democratic and Republican gubernatorial candidates both essentially decided prior to the vote. Governor Rick Scott picked up 89.7 percent of the Republican primary votes in Franklin County, while Democratic nominee Charlie Crist took 57 percent of the county votes against challenger Nan Rich.

A little more than 66 percent of the county’s Democrats preferred the eventual winner for the nominee for Florida attorney general, George Sheldon, against rival Perry Thurston.

Franklin County’s primary Tuesday saw one incumbent ousted on the eastern end, and another re-elected on the western end.

Pamela Marshall, 56, of Carrabelle, took a clear majority of the ballots in the non-partisan race for school board for District 2, avoiding a run-off in the Nov. 4 general election.

Marshall, a former teacher who retired from the school district after 32 years in the classroom, captured more than 56 percent of vote (350), to overtake challenger Wilburn 'Ray' Messer, 55, of Carrabelle, who drew 30.5 percent of the ballots (190), and 14-year incumbent David Hinton, 78, of Carrabelle, who received 13.5 percent (84)

In the universal primary held for District 4 county commissioner, incumbent Joseph “Smokey” Parrish, 52, of Apalachicola, easily retained his seat with 66.6 percent (381) to 33.4 percent (191) for challenger Royce S. Rolstad III, 31, of Apalachicola.

While Republican voters in District 2 may have cast votes in the race for county commissioner, the supervisor of elections office did not release any totals, since Mark Nobles, 57, of Lanark Village, was deemed the winner after Bill Snyder, 55, of Lanark Village, dropped out for health reasons earlier this month. Nobles will now square off in the November election against Democratic incumbent Cheryl Sanders, 58, of Carrabelle.

Turnout for the election was a scant 27.5 percent, not surprising given that there were no statewide primary races, with the Democratic and Republican gubernatorial candidates both essentially decided prior to the vote. Governor Rick Scott picked up 89.7 percent of the Republican primary votes in Franklin County, while Democratic nominee Charlie Crist took 57 percent of the county votes against challenger Nan Rich.

A little more than 66 percent of the county’s Democrats preferred the eventual winner for the nominee for Florida attorney general, George Sheldon, against rival Perry Thurston.

Supervisor of Elections Ida Elliott had complete election results within about a half-hour after the polls closed at 7 p.m. She said the day went off pretty much without a hitch, with two window air conditioner units installed last week at precinct #8, the American Legion hall west of Apalachicola.

“It went fine,” she said. “Just long.”

Elliott said the county’s new EVid electronic pollbook system performed well, with the only bump being a delay in transmitting the numbers from Precinct 8. She said state officials told her that there had been transmission problem all over the state, and that Franklin County’s debut of its system had been fine.

“Y’all look better than anyone in the state,” a state elections official told her.

Turnout was particularly lackluster in Eastpoint, where only 12.2 percent of registered voters cast ballots. It was only a little better at the National Guard Armory, where just shy of 19 percent voted; on St. George Island, where 25 percent voted, and in Carrabelle, where nearly 29 percent voted.

It was strongest in Lanark Village, where about 40.2 percent cast ballots; at the two precincts at American Legion Hall west of Apalachicola, where 44 and 54 percent of registered voters cast ballots; and in Alligator Point, where nearly 42 percent of registered voters went to the polls.